IAC 2026 – Advancing International Cooperation for a Future with More Space
The global space community gathered in Antalya, Türkiye, for the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026), held from 5 to 9 October 2026 under the theme “The World Needs More Space”.
The Congress welcomed 7,604 delegates from 113 countries, with Türkiye, the United States, Germany, Italy and China recording the highest participation. H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan personally inaugurated the Congress, underscoring Türkiye’s commitment to advancing its space sector and strengthening international cooperation across the global space community.
The highlights of the IAC 2026 were the 3rd IAF Global Space Leaders Summit, which brought together 49 heads of space agencies to discuss the lunar economy, orbital resilience and space-based solutions to global challenges, and the 16th IAF International Meeting for Ministers and Members of Parliaments (MMoP), which welcomed 195 participants from 40 countries, with the presence of 12 ministers and state secretaries, including Minister of Industry and Technology of Türkiye Mehmet Fatih Kacır, and 23 Parliamentarians.
The IAC 2026 Public Day welcomed more than 4,000 visitors, most of them students under the age of 17, inspiring the next generation to explore the excitement and possibilities of space. One of the Public Day highlights was the opportunity to meet astronauts in person as part of the fifth edition of the IAF International Astronauts Chapter, where the IAF brought together more than 30 international astronauts in Antalya.
The IAF General Assembly also selected Geneva, Switzerland, as the host city for the International Astronautical Congress in 2029.
The Congress also marked an important milestone in the continued growth of the IAF: 51 new organisations joined the Federation, bringing its membership to more than 621 organisations across 84 countries, with Bolivia and the Maldives recently having joined. At the Closing Ceremony, the IAF flag was ceremonially handed over to the delegation of the European Space Foundation, led by its Founder and President, Łukasz Wilczyński, host of IAC 2027 in Poznań, Poland.
As IAC 2026 concluded in Antalya, it left a strong legacy of international dialogue, collaboration and inspiration, while setting the stage for the next gathering of the global space community.